Understanding Race and Health Inequity in the UK

Introduction    Understanding race and health inequity in the UK

Julie Botticello and Melanie Etti

Section 1         Questioning  

1          Access and barriers to health and healthcare: E-mail conversations about underserved BAME populations and health inequity in the UK

Meiko Makita, Tharin Phenwan, and Judith Sixsmith

2          Unpacking the paradox: Excluded communities within geographic centres of medical excellence  

Corina Cheeks

Section 2         Research and data

3          Race and health research: Challenges for transforming practice          

Tanvi Rai

4          Artificial intelligence (AI) and racial health equity: Promise and peril         
Mohammad Sharif Razai and Shobhana Nagraj

Section 3         Maternal health      

5          The impact of ethnicity on maternal health outcomes  

Allison Felker, Siân Harrison, Claire Carson, et al.

6          Language interpretation provision in maternity services: A racialised perspective           
Sarah Akhtar Baz, Laura Sheard, Anne MacFarlane, et al.

Section 4         Mis/Trust in services          

7          The role of trust in improving health among Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities

Alison McFadden, Karl Atkin, and Helen Jones

8          Uptake of mental health services: A case of Black sub-Saharan Afrikan migrant communities in the West Midlands of England, UK

Last Mafuba, Mathew Nyashanu, and Linda Gibson

Section 5         Chronic conditions and the social determinants of health

9          Invisible in the system: Sickle cell and the struggle for equity

Savanna M. Daquila and Anna M. Hood

10        Managing multiple long-term conditions in socioeconomically deprived and ethnically diverse populations

Megan Armstrong, Danielle Nimmons, and Abi Woodward

Section 6         Beyond resilience    

11        The intersection of resilience and systemic barriers in accessing mental health services among Black African and African Caribbean communities in the UK

Angela D. Kumah, Angela Tufte-Hewett, and Fouad Berrahou

Conclusions               

Melanie Etti and Julie Botticello

Biography

Melanie Etti, Medical Doctor and NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow, University of Oxford, UK.

Julie Botticello, Senior Lecturer and Course Leader, MSc Public Health, University of East London, UK.

'A timely book focusing on health inequities and the importance of taking action to support marginalised and vulnerable communities. The authors expertly articulate key issues in a critical and insightful manner. This is a must-read book for anyone who is interested in developing a greater understanding about the intersections of health, race, inequity, and outcomes'.
— Professor Marcia Wilson, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Birmingham City University

'This book provides a timely and essential introduction into race and health in the UK, with vitally important case studies. A supportive handbook for those seeking to understand health equity'.
— Dr Annabel Sowemimo, Author of Divided: Racism, Medicine and Why We Need to Decolonise Healthcare, Community Sexual & Reproductive Health Consultant, Harold Moody Scholar at King’s College London

'Etti and Botticello's edited volume is a perceptive inquiry into the underpinnings of racial inequity in health in the UK. The authors seamlessly integrate evidence, lived experience and policy insights to create a powerful narrative that exposes systemic gaps, while offering credible paths forward. This book presents invaluable learning and belongs on the desk of healthcare professionals, policymakers, educators, and anyone committed to building fairer, healthier communities in the UK'.
— Professor Habib Naqvi, Chief Executive, NHS Race and Health Observatory

'This important volume is based on five important truths: “Race” is not biology. “Racial”/ethnic differences in health outcomes are not normal. There is a system of structuring opportunity and assigning value based on “race” which is foundational to the history and wealth of the United Kingdom. That system, racism, continues to manifest in our structures, policies, practices, norms, and values today. Racism saps the strength of our whole society. Congratulations, Drs. Etti and Botticello, on convening this urgent conversation and issuing this call for urgent action within the health sector'.
— Professor Camara Phyllis Jones, Past President, American Public Health Association, Visiting Professor, King’s College London